Aurious Hightower
Aurious was the first born son of Lord Marco Hightower and Lady Julianne Hightower. Being born into an affluent family, Aurious was given opportunity, convenience, and anything he desired. At the age of eighteen, he departed from his home in Stratholme and became a cleric under Archbishop Alonsus Faol in the Holy Order of Northshire Clerics. At the age of thirty, he was inducted into the Knights of the SIlver Hand as one of the first paladins and was a part of the Argent Dawn and is currently within the Argent Cruasde. Background Aurious was born about two and a half decades before the beginning of the First War to Lord marco Hightower and Lady Julianne Hightower in the city of Stratholme. When he turned eighteen, he left his home and became a Cleric under Archbishop Alonsus Faol in the Holy Order of Northshire Clerics where he served during the First War. In the year 597 by the King's Calender, 5 years after the beginning of the First War, he was inducted into the Knights of the Silver Hand as one of the first paladins behind the more notable such as Uther the Lightbringer, Saidan Dathrohan, Tirion Fordring, Turalyon, and Gavinrad the Dire. Like many within the Knights of the Silver Hand, Aurious served in the Second War. The Culling of Stratholme. Aurious was one of the Knights within the Order of the Knights of the Silver Hand to accompany Uther the Lightbringer to Stratholme along with Prince Arthas Menethil. As a result, due to Prince Arthas' command, he along with the other Knights of the Silver Hand were suspended from service. It was here, at the Culling of Stratholme, that the majority of the Hightower family were confirmed killed. There are many reports of missing family members, but as far as Aurious knows, everyone within his family was killed during the Purging. After the Third War Aurious, much like the remaining paladins of the Knights of the Silver Hand followed Lord Commander Saidan Dathrohan and Highlord Alexandros Mograine, the wielder of the Ashbringer, in their fight against the Scourge within the Plaguelands from their base at Hearthglen in what is now known as the Western Plagueland. Worried about the Forsaken entrenching themselves in the Ruins of Lordaeron, Aurious, along with the other Knights, established a base in what is now known as the Scarlet Monastery in Tirisfal Glades. However, with Balnazzar possessing Lord Commander Saidan Dathrohan and the betrayal of Renault Mograine, which led to the death of Highlord Alexandros Mograine, Aurious, along with the other paladins that were disgusted with the Scarlet Crusade's zealotry, formed the Argent Dawn. Service in the Argent Dawn Aurious' service in the Argent Dawn was virtually uneventful; however, during his service, Aurious met Dilan Ravenshield, who had defected from the Scarlet Crusade after realizing their corruption had taken root and wished to join the Argent Dawn. The two became close friends and served together in the Dawn; however, after the Battle of Light's Hope Chapel, when Lord Tirion Fordring merged the Argent Dawn and the remaining Knights of the Silver Hand to form the Argent Crusade, the two split and woul d not be reunited until the Battle of the Wrathgate. Service in the Argent Crusade Although Aurious was one of the first to join the Argent Crusade, he witnessed very little action until the Battle of the Wrathgate where he was reunited with his friend, Dilan Ravenshield. During the battle, Aurious witnessed Dilan receive a critcal injury to the eye by none other than Marcus Ravenshield, Dilan's older brother now turned Death Knight. Aurious witnessed Marcus carry Dilan off of the battlefield and followed suit; however, he lost the two in the midst of a blizzard and chanced upon a gr oup of Argent Crusaders and joined them. They were shocked to stumble upon no ne other than Dilan, laying in the snow with what appeared to be minimal first aid on his eye. They managed to heal the warrior, but could not awaken him from his co ma. From there, Aurious and the rest brought Dilan to Westgarde Keep in the Howling Fjord, out of the way of the war. They returned to Icecrown just before the final assault on Icecrown Citadel and joined. Injury During the Battle Against the Lich King During the final battle against Arthas, Aurious sustained a near mortal injury whilst protecting one of the healers by several ghouls the Lich King had risen and fell into a coma. This caused him to miss the entirety of the Cataclysm. Recovery Days after the demise of Deathwing the Destroyer, Aurious awoke in the care of the priests and paladins of the Cathedral in Stormwind City. Even though they insisted that he rest for a few more weeks due to his old age, he immediately donned his armor from his days of the Knights of the Silver Hand and went through vigorous training in order to make up for the loss in muscle tone he had due to his coma. Reuniting with Dilan It was during Aurious' training that he happened upon Dilan Ravenshield, who had just returned from Northrend, once again. It was at this time that Dilan named Aurious a Cadet Lord of the House of Ravenshield and the two remain friends. Even today, one can see the two old men in quick witted banter with one another. Category:Characters Category:Argent Crusade Category:Human Category:Lordaeron Human Category:Order of the Silver Hand Category:Argent Dawn